Stick-type cosmetic applicators which allow a solid cosmetic contained therein to be projected and retracted have been well known. Such a cosmetic applicator comprises: a housing sleeve for a solid cosmetic; a sliding sleeve which holds said solid cosmetic and moves up and down along the inner surface of said housing sleeve; a driving sleeve which has a continued spiral groove on its inner surface for moving said sliding sleeve; a guide sleeve having a longitudinal slot for guiding a pin which is provided on said sliding sleeve and engages with said spiral groove; an intermediate sleeve installed on the outer side of the lower portion of said solid cosmetic housing sleeve, and; an outer sleeve installed on the other side of the lower portions of said intermediate sleeve.
In the stick-type cosmetic applicator disclosed in the prior art, the driving sleeve and the guide sleeve are disposed within the solid cosmetic housing sleeve so that the sliding sleeve moves up and down with the solid cosmetic within the guide sleeve along the longitudinal slot of the guide sleeve. With such construction, assembly is difficult and the outer diameter of the cosmetic applicator is large since the driving sleeve and the guide sleeve are disposed in layers around the solid cosmetic.
Usually, the driving sleeve is made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin, such as acrylonitrile-styrene or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, while the intermediate sleeve and the outer sleeve disposed around the driving sleeve are made of a metal, such as aluminium, which has the requisite machinability, strength and appearance. The cosmetic material, in a melted state, is charged into the applicator through the bottom thereof and then solidified therein. The driving sleeve contracts as it is heated during the charging of the melted cosmetic material. This contraction causes a gap between the driving sleeve and the metallic intermediate sleeve, permitting the intermediate sleeve to freely rotate with respect to the driving sleeve. Therefore, when in use, the solid cosmetic does not move smoothly because the rotation of the outer sleeve is not consistently transmitted to the driving sleeve through the intermediate sleeve.